Part 411

Ga*lac"tic (?), a. [Gr. &?; milky, fr. &?;, &?;, milk. See Galaxy, and cf. Lactic.] 1. Of or pertaining to milk; got from milk; as, galactic acid.

2. Of or pertaining to the galaxy or Milky Way.

Galactic circle (Astron.), the great circle of the heavens, to which the course of the galaxy most nearly conforms. Herschel. -- Galactic poles, the poles of the galactic circle.

Ga*lac"tin (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, milk. Cf. Lactin.] (Chem.) (a) An amorphous, gelatinous substance containing nitrogen, found in milk and other animal fluids. It resembles peptone, and is variously regarded as a coagulating or emulsifying agent. (b) A white waxy substance found in the sap of the South American cow tree (Galactodendron). (c) An amorphous, gummy carbohydrate resembling gelose, found in the seeds of leguminous plants, and yielding on decomposition several sugars, including galactose.

Ga*lac`to*den*sim"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?; + E. densimeter.] Same as Galactometer.

Gal`ac*tom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, milk + -meter: cf. F. galactomËtre. Cf. Lactometer.] An instrument for ascertaining the quality of milk (i.e., its richness in cream) by determining its specific gravity; a lactometer.

Gal`ac*toph"a*gist (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, milk + &?; to eat: cf. &?; to live on milk.] One who eats, or subsists on, milk.

Gal`ac*toph"a*gous (?), a. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. galactophade.] Feeding on milk.

Gal`ac*toph"o*rous (?), a. [Gr. &?;; &?;, &?;, milk + &?; to bear: cf. F. galactophore. Cf. Lactiferous.] (Anat.) Milk-carrying; lactiferous; -- applied to the ducts of mammary glands.

Ga*lac`to*poi*et"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?;, &?;, milk + &?; capable of making; fr. &?; to make.] (Med.) Increasing the flow of milk; milk-producing. -- n. A galactopoietic substance.

Ga*lac"tose (?), n. (Chem.) A white, crystalline sugar, C6H12O6, isomeric with dextrose, obtained by the decomposition of milk sugar, and also from certain gums. When oxidized it forms mucic acid. Called also lactose (though it is not lactose proper).

Ga*lage" (?), n. (Obs.) See Galoche. Spenser.

Ga*la"go (?), n.; pl. Galagos (#). [Native name.] (Zoˆl.) A genus of African lemurs, including numerous species.

The grand galago (Galago crassicaudata) is about the size of a cat; the mouse galago (G. murinus)is about the size of a mouse.

{ Ga*lan"ga (?), Ga*lan"gal (?) }, n.[OE. galingale, OF. galingal, garingal, F. galanga (cf. Sp. galanga), prob. fr. Ar. khalanj&?;n. ] The pungent aromatic rhizome or tuber of certain East Indian or Chinese species of Alpinia (A. Galanga and A. officinarum) and of the KÊmpferia Galanga), -- all of the Ginger family.

Gal"an*tine (? or ?), n. [F. galantine.] A dish of veal, chickens, or other white meat, freed from bones, tied up, boiled, and served cold. Smart.

Gal"a*pee` tree" (?), (Bot.) The West Indian Sciadophyllum Brownei, a tree with very large digitate leaves.

Ga*la"tian (?), a. Of or pertaining to Galatia or its inhabitants. -- A native or inhabitant of Galatia, in Asia Minor; a descendant of the Gauls who settled in Asia Minor.

Gal"ax*y (?), n.; pl. Galaxies (#). [F. galaxie, L. galaxias, fr. Gr. &?; (sc. &?; circle), fr. &?;, &?;, milk; akin to L. lac. Cf. Lacteal.]

1. (Astron.) The Milky Way; that luminous tract, or belt, which is seen at night stretching across the heavens, and which is composed of innumerable stars, so distant and blended as to be distinguishable only with the telescope. The term has recently been used for remote clusters of stars. Nichol.

2. A splendid assemblage of persons or things.

{ Gal"ban, Gal"ba*num (?), } n. [L. galbanum, Gr. &?;, prob. from Heb. klekb'n&?;h: cf. F. galbanum.] A gum resin exuding from the stems of certain Asiatic umbelliferous plants, mostly species of Ferula. The Bubon Galbanum of South Africa furnishes an inferior kind of galbanum. It has an acrid, bitter taste, a strong, unpleasant smell, and is used for medical purposes, also in the arts, as in the manufacture of varnish.

Gale (gl), n. [Prob. of Scand. origin; cf. Dan. gal furious, Icel. galinn, cf. Icel. gala to sing, AS. galan to sing, Icel. galdr song, witchcraft, AS. galdor charm, sorcery, E. nightingale; also, Icel. gjla gust of wind, gola breeze. Cf. Yell.] 1. A strong current of air; a wind between a stiff breeze and a hurricane. The most violent gales are called tempests.

Gales have a velocity of from about eighteen ("moderate") to about eighty ("very heavy") miles an our. Sir. W. S. Harris.

2. A moderate current of air; a breeze.

A little gale will soon disperse that cloud.

Shak.

And winds of gentlest gale Arabian odors fanned From their soft wings.